About Me

Bilingual Roman Catholic priest of the Southern Dominican Province. The "homilettes" on this website are completely the work of Fr. Mele. He may be contacted at cmeleop@yahoo.com.
Telephone: (415) 279-9234.

In southern Italian city of Matera thousands of people lived
in caves until the 1950s.The people farmed
and herded sheep for a subsistence living.At night they returned to their homes dug out of limestone thousands of
years ago.There they ate and slept
along with their most valuable farm animals.It is quite possible that Jesus was born in a grotto such as one of
these caves.

Today’s gospel shows the shepherds coming to worship the
newborn Savior.They recognize him in
part by the manger that would have been part of an inhabited cave.The second century Christian philosopher
Justin Martyr, a native of Palestine and familiar with Bethlehem, claims that
Jesus was born in a grotto or cave.Some
of the Fathers of the Church thought this testimony credible.They wrote that in becoming human Jesus descended
to the depths of the earth so that he might redeem all people.

The passage also features Mary.It says that she is reflecting in her heart on
all that is taking place.She realizes
that Jesus’ birth in the humblest conditions has significance.It rebukes the rich and powerful who seek to
control others.She knows that shepherds
represent the poor.They depend upon
Christ as their hope in an often callous world.And she knows that the angels spoke the truth.They announced the birth of Jesus who saves
us from our sins

Remember the movies where the Anti-Christ was pictured as
a super-suave, very evil-intentioned man?He was revealed by the numbers “666” branded somewhere on his
person.That’s Hollywood.In today’s first reading we find one of the
four times “antichrist” is found in the Bible.The other three are also in the Letters of John.None describes a person of great evil.All refer to people who have left the author’s
community.The situation is similar to
what has happened throughout the two millennia of Christianity.There are examples of it taking place today
as well.

Many people are deeply offended by the way the bishops
have handled sexual abuse of minors.They
are appalled of the cover-ups and the reassigning of molesters to other
parishes. They certainly should expect behavior better than average by men who
preach the gospel.The fact that errant
priests were reassigned often with professional assurance that they were not
likely to commit the same crimes again should contribute to understanding how
such a scandal could have arisen.Fortunately,
it must be said now, the abuse and certainly reassignment are phenomena of the
past. A system of checks has been put into place to assure the protection of
minors.

Some, whose faith is shaky, may have found in clergy
abuse an excuse to leave the Church.Hopefully,
they will see the light and come back.The light here is not some celestial luminary.It is Christ himself.He left the ongoing work of redemption in the
hands of imperfect men.Although by and
large the men and women working in the name of the Church have sacrificed
themselves for others, some have failed.As we end one year and begin a new one, we pray that their sins may be
repented and forgiven.We also ask God’s
help that such crimes will never blemish the Church again.

The joy of Christmas never goes unmitigated.On December 26, Catholics celebrate the Feast
of St. Stephan, the first Christian martyr.Stephan was stoned to death as he testified to Jesus’ glorification at
God’s right hand.The undercurrent of
sorrow is even more pronounced today -- two days later – when the Church
remembers the Holy Innocents.As the
gospel relates, these infants were slaughtered in Herod’s maniacal obsession to
eliminate rivals.

The two sobering feasts of Christmastide remind people of
the purpose of this great feast.It
hardly celebrates the glory of humanity – its capacity for virtue and
autonomy.Rather Christmas brings
rejoicing because God has sent His Son to redeem humans from folly.The Christ child is born not just to teach
humans God’s holy will, but more importantly to die in satisfaction for their
sins.It is like the American missionary
doctor in Africa who a few years ago contracted the deadly Ebola virus while
working to defeat the disease.

Yet there is no need for us to spend these days in
mourning.As St. Stephan and the Holy
Innocents shared in Christ’s redemptive death, they have also participated in
his triumph over death.We believe that
they are nearer to Christ in glory than we can be at the present time.We now join their hymn of praise to God.We also hope to stand among them sooner or
later in eternal happiness.

Some may be taken aback by the appearance of a
resurrection account so near to Christmas.But the resurrection is as much part of Christ’s story as his death forecasted
yesterday on the Feast of St. Stephen.It could be said “even more so” for Jesus was not born to die like other
humans.Rather from all eternity he was
to rise from the dead as the Son of God.

Of course, it is the Beloved Disciple who takes center
stage in today’s passage.More than
likely he did not actually write the Gospel according to John.But he evidently provided many of the
traditions on which it is based.The reading
testifies to how he believes without seeing the risen Christ.In this he differs from the other
disciples.Later in the gospel Jesus
will say to Thomas, “You have believed because you have seen me.Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed.”The Beloved Disciple is
the first person to believe in Christ’s resurrection without seeing him risen.

We follow the Beloved Disciple in due course.Christmas could not ultimately be joyous with
our belief in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.It accomplished the victory over sin for
which Christ was born.Because of it we live
in true freedom.More wonderfully, Jesus’
resurrection has assured us of eternal life when we follow him.

T.S. Eliot’s play Murder
in the Cathedral tells the story of the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170.Half-way through the play, the archbishop delivers his Christmas
sermon.He tells the congregation that
at Christmas mass not only the birth of Jesus is remembered but also his
passion and death.He adds that this
dual remembrance indicates that the Christian life is neither pure joy nor pure
sorrow.Thomas goes on to ask, “Is it an
accident … that the day of the first martyr follows immediately the day of the
Birth of Christ?” Not at all, the Church deliberately places the martyrdom of
Stephen on the day after Christmas to temper our celebration.We must keep in mind that Jesus became human to
sacrifice himself for others.

Unless people think that the dual sentiment is solely the
invention of the Medieval Church, we can point to the same juxtaposition of elation
and ominous sorrow in both Luke’s and Matthew’s Nativity accounts.In Luke after Jesus is born his parents take
him to the Temple.There the holy man
Simeon makes the foreboding prophecy that Jesus will be a sign to be
contradicted.In other words, Jesus will extend God’s love to people, but his offer will in some cases be brutally rejected.In Matthew the horror is more evident.Jesus’ birth occasions the jealousy of King
Herod.To eliminate his rival Herod has
all male infants of the area two years or under murdered.

We must take to heart the cross sentiments of Christian
life.Our happiest celebrations like a
dear friend’s birthday should not ignore the fact that fellow humans are
suffering often dire circumstances.Similarly, our most intolerable burdens like the loss of a loved one
should not go without faith in Christ’s victory over sin and death.Christians are neither rosy-eyed optimists
nor unrelenting pessimists.No, we live
both the death and the resurrection of the Lord deep in our hearts everyday.

Historians do more than record the events of the
past.More importantly, they tell the
significance of those events.They put
the events in context by relating them to other occurrences of the time.They also give the meaning of the events to both
the people of their time and the historians’ own times.Of the four evangelists no one is more
self-consciously an historian than Luke.His historical consciousness is readily seen as he narrates the event of
Jesus’ birth.

Luke begins his story by contextualizing Joseph, Mary,
and Jesus in their time.Caesar Augustus
was ruling what seemed to be the whole world.He had brought peace to the empire after almost a hundred years of civil
strife. The great poet Virgil considered Augustus the epitome of the virtuous ruler.Luke hints that Jesus will become an ever
more glorious ruler.He relates how the angels
are singing in the heavens when Jesus is born."’Glory to God in the highest,’” they proclaim, “’and on earth
peace to those on whom his favor rests.’"

We live in a world of continued conflict and often enough
war.The great powers – Russia, China,
and the United States – show off their military might.Civil wars in smaller nations like Yemen,
Sudan, and Syria ravage populations.Some
ask: if Jesus is the great peace-maker, why does the world still experience
such turmoil?Our response will not
satisfy every troubled heart, but it does fit our experience.Jesus
has brought a modicum of peace to the world.He healed the enmity between Jews and Gentiles in antiquity, and his
teachings continue to give pause to warring hearts.He also moves us interiorly to reconcile with
our enemies, our neighbors, and God.His
birth, which we celebrate with joy today, represents the beginning of eternal
peace.

Today’s gospel is comprised entirely of the song or
canticle of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.It is commonly called the Benedictus, the Latin for its first word
“’Blessed.’”Zechariah is singing praise
to God on the occasion of His new-born son John’s circumcision.The song, however, keeps the Messiah, Jesus
Christ, front and center.He is the
“mighty Savior” who will have come to free Israel from its oppressors.John serves as the Messiah’s forerunner, the
one who “’go(es) before the Lord to prepare his way.’”

Something akin to Matthew’s genealogy, Zechariah’s
canticle underscores a relationship of the Messiah to two essential figures of
the Old Testament.First in the order of
the canticle, Jesus comes from the David’s lineage.As the first reading promises, he will establish
an eternal dynasty bearing David’s name.Just as important, Jesus fulfills the oath God made to Abraham.The patriarch’s descendants are to be as
countless as the stars in the sky.St.
Paul will note how this prophecy is fulfilled with the Gentiles coming to
practice the faith of Abraham.

The time is at hand.Jesus is to be born.He will both
fulfill Old Testament prophecies and provide the New Testament hope of eternal
life.We must open our hearts and minds
to him.Our response begins easily
enough tonight.It continues as we carry
our individual crosses in life.It ends
with our taking a place among God’s glorified.

Faith may be defined as the jumping to a conclusion under
the influence of the Holy Spirit.The
faithful person has inconclusive evidence from the senses of God’s presence.She may attribute the good that is before her
as an illusion summoned by her desire to know the depth of reality.But the Holy Spirit moves her to an
acceptance of the divine love undergirding creation.We see faith at work two and a half times in
today’s gospel.

“Filled with the Holy Spirit” Elizabeth recognizes Mary
as “blessed among women” and “mother of my Lord.”The same Spirit has already prompted the baby
in Elizabeth’s womb to leap in recognition of the Messiah in Mary’s womb.The “half” exhibition of faith comes from Elizabeth’s
allusion to Mary’s response to the angel of God.The latter said in faith, “’…Be it done to me
according to your word.’”

Even with the Spirit faith challenges us at times.God’s will may seem opposed to what we deem as
desirable.Perhaps a loved one has become
terminally sick.Or perhaps we want
something we know is wrong for us.We must
hold on to faith.That is, we must continue
believing in divine love undergirding our very existence.

Jerome Miller, a Catholic theologian, wrote a reflection
on the Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli’s depiction of the
Annunciation.According to Miller, the artist,
like any exegete, has much to teach us about this critical moment in the
history of salvation.

Miller begins his study by noting how the action of the
painting takes places on a floor of perfectly arranged rectangles.He says these figures represent lives that
are dominated by order which brings meaning and gives a platform for
action.Then Miller notes how the angel
appears as an eruption of grace into Mary’s well-ordered life.In the painting the angel’s hand makes a
gesture of command: she is to give birth to the Son of God who will bring peace
to earth.The hand is open and not
pointing directly to Mary but giving her permission to refuse the mandate.Mary, however, is pictured as all receptivity.
Her body curves in what can be seen as a
bow of compliance.Her hands are open like
Jesus’ on the cross.Their positioning indicates
awareness that her decision will cause her suffering.

All of us are so approached in life with a proposition of
divine grace.We are called out of the ordinariness
of making a living to sacrifice ourselves for others.Of course, our consent to grace will make us
vulnerable to suffering.But we should not
shrink from the mission.We like Mary
are nothing greater, but nothing less either, than servants of the Lord.

The other day the reading from the gospel of Matthew gave
the genealogy of Jesus beginning with Abraham.The starting point is significant.Abraham represents a break with the past.Humanity reached a nadir in its attempt to
storm heaven with the Tower of Babel.There is no indication that the situation improved in the stretch between
the confusion of languages and mention of Abram.Then God initiates the human race’s long trek
back to virtue.Abram proved to be a man
of faith, and God marvelously rewarded him and his barren wife with a son.Through one of their descendants humans have
both an exemplar of virtue and a redeemer from sin.Jesus’ death on the cross not only revealed
God’s love but also provided humans the grace to imitate it.In today’s gospel Luke pays a similar tribute
as Matthew to Abraham.

The first reading is intended to compare Zachariah and
Elizabeth of the gospel to the parents of Samson.Nevertheless, the gospel also conveys a profound
similarity to the story of Abraham and Sarah.Both Abraham and Zachariah are very old when they receive a divine
revelation that they will father a child.Both respond with the same question, “’How shall I know this?’”And in both cases the prophecy is
fulfilled.Both fathers will take
delight in their sons.

As God works out human salvation in and through Abraham
and Zachariah, He is acting in us.He has
sent His Son to assure us of His care.Boosted by Jesus’ support we befriend the lonely, the needy, and the
poor.In the process we both become
virtuous and lead others to virtue.

Jesus wants us to be perfect.He says so in the Sermon on the Mount: “’Be
perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.’”If that sounds impossible or unhealthy, consider this: perfection is not
perfectionism.Perfection is not a
self-conscious pursuit of never being seen with any fault.It is the justice that the prophet Jeremiah
speaks of in today’s first reading.

Jeremiah tells the people that the Lord will raise up “a
righteous shoot to David.”Israel has experienced
numerous unrighteous kings.Now God is
going to change that.He will place on
David’s throne one who rules with justice.The justice begins with the king’s father who emanates goodness in
everything he does.In a very trying
situation Joseph shows control over his passions.Rather than making a scandal of Mary for supposedly
violating their marriage covenant, he decides to separate from her
quietly.He may lose his dowry, but he
will save Mary shame.Joseph is
demonstrating the perfection that the Law is designed to produce not a literal
following of the rule as far as it goes, but a life of virtue.

Jesus provides us a much fuller demonstration of
righteousness.More than example,
however, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit so that we might carry out perfection in
the most difficult of situations.It may
be harder than ever to live righteously with all the temptations to
self-promotion and hedonism today.We desperately
need Jesus’ witness and the grace of the Holy Spirit to carry out his demand to be
perfect.

Some people would not have this gospel passage read at
mass because names like Shealtiel are too hard to pronounce.Others don’t see the point of all the “begatting”
as an older translation had it.Perhaps a
few pious people are scandalized by the reference to cruel characters like King
Rehoboam .This son of Solomon when
counseled to relieve the tax burden his father imposed responded by promising to
increase taxes tenfold.Thus, he
precipitated the breakup of Israel into two kingdoms.A few people might also ask, what is the
point of mentioning the ancestors of Jesus like Achim and Eliud who are not known
in any other part of the Bible?

St. Matthew, however, thought the whole list of names important.He recognized that it not only shows Jesus’
human and kingly origins, but indicates something else almost as significant.For Matthew God works through sinful and even
incompetent people as well as great ones to produce His just ends.He patiently and diligently saves humans from
their sins by the agency of all kinds of people.

We, who may doubt God’s plan or even question the
existence of God, should take note.Evil
is present everywhere, but God constantly turns it over for positive
results.We cannot exclude ourselves
from His work.That is, we cannot use
our shortcomings, be they sins or disabilities, as an excuse not to act on God’s
behalf.We have to call others by word
and example to join the Church in her work of salvation.

St. John of the Cross lived in
the turbulent sixteenth century.The Protestant
Reformation split the Western Church in half. The decadence of the Renaissance popes was
being corrected by the reforms of the Council of Trent.Reformers of major religious orders were calling
their numbers back to their original ideals.John of the Cross played such a role in the Carmelites of Spain.

John believed that the Carmelites
had long abandoned the semi-eremitical life of their foundation in the twelfth
century.Along with others he founded a monastery
of friars who would live a solitary life of contemplation and praise to God.In this endeavor he pairs well with John the
Baptist whom Jesus extols in today’s gospel.Of course, John of the Cross also composed theological treatises
exploring the mystical life.

Jesus presents John as the yang
to his yin.John called for reform so
that people could escape the wrath of God who was sending his Messiah to judge
them.Jesus, the actual Messiah, urges
reform so that the people could experience the tender love of God.This message does not oppose John’s complimented
it.The people, as today’s reading
testifies, found excuses to sidestep both figures.

Our society finds itself in the
position of those people.We can hear
voices urging reform both to avoid the turmoil of civil unrest and to experience
the solace of social harmony.We await
the return of Christ who will bring justice to the earth.

Martyrs are celebrated throughout the year.They are the heroines and heroes of the
Church.But Advent particularly favors
martyrs.After all, they reflect the
hope which characterizes the season.They
hoped for the eternal life Jesus promises as they died in witness to his
Lordship. St. Lucy was an early Sicilian martyr.As with most martyrs of antiquity we know
little about her.She stands out almost
exclusively for the fact of her martyrdom.

In today’s gospel Jesus praises John the Baptist who
suffered a martyr’s death.He calls him the
greatest of the prophets because John announces the coming of the Messiah.Yet he did not know Jesus as the
Messiah.For this reason Jesus says that
anyone who knows himself, the embodiment of God’s Kingdom, is greater than
John. Those who have known him like St. Lucy and all who believe in the gospel
should be ready to die for him.

Is this asking too much of us?To be sure, it is not asking that we seek to
be killed by extremist haters of Christianity.But it is demanding that we give witness to the Gospel by dying to
ourselves.It means that we always do to
others what we would want them to do to us. It also means that we desist
seeking our own importance, wealth, and pleasure.But it means as well that we find joy in Jesus’
company – one that will last forever.

The most astounding statement at the recent assembly of
Hispanic leaders was not made by a bold youth.Nor was it uttered by a veteran Hispanic rabble rouser. Nor was it proclaimed by a pious bishop
devotee of the Blessed Mother.As a
matter of fact the person who pronounced it was neither young, ordained, nor
even Hispanic.The Honorable Carl J.
Anderson has been Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus for eighteen years.He served as a government lawyer in the
administration of Ronald Reagan and has authored several books. At the Quinto
Encuentro, the Hispanic assembly, Anderson told the audience that he is
looking forward to the day when the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe replaces that
of the Immaculate Conception as the patronal feast of the United States.

The reason for the change is straightforward.Our Lady of Guadalupe has an American
origin.She appeared to a native peasant
on a hillside outside Mexico City almost 500 years ago.There she claimed to be protector of the
people of this land.At first, only the
indigenous saw in her motive to believe in her son, Jesus Christ, as their
savior.Not long afterwards the whole of
Mexico – white, brown, and mestizo -- adopted her as their patron.Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed the Virgin
of Guadalupe “patroness of the Americas.”Now as Hispanics are poised to become the majority of Catholic Church in
the United States, it is not far-fetched to name her as its favorite model and
intercessor.

Of course, substituting the Virgin of Guadalupe for the
Immaculate Conception represents no real change at all.Both names point to the same woman, Mary of
Nazareth, who trusted the Lord enough to accept the offer of conceiving His
Son.If her patronage of the United
States is ever recognized, she will not be gratified any more than before.She will always say, as she does to Elizabeth
in today’s gospel, that God is the One to whom our attention is due. Or, as she
puts it, “’My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in
God my savior.’"

Secularists sometimes have a conception of God; they are not all strict
atheists.They may theorize that God is a
supreme force which set in motion the universe.What they cannot fathom is a God who cares about humans.“Why,” they might ask, “should the Creator
love rational beings who often rather viciously disturb the order of being?”The readings of today’s mass do not provide
an explanation, but they do testify to God’s care for people.

Isaiah speaks of God’s concern for exiled Jews exiled in
Babylon. He announces that their punishment for disobedience has ended, that
the Lord has heard their pleas for mercy.In fact, the prophet says God is preparing a highway through the desert for
them to return to Jerusalem.The gospel gives
a tender image of God’s loving concern.As
a shepherd might carry a sheep that has gone astray back to the flock, God pardons
the sinner and returns him to the community.

We believe that God not only loves us, but also becomes
one of us and then dies on our behalf.It’s like someone donating not only a kidney but also a lung and part of
her heart that we might not die.What are
we to do but thank that person continuously after we rejoice profusely for a
new lease on life.

For most of us it is easier to say to a crippled person, “Your
sins are forgiven,” than to say, “Stand up and walk.”This is so because most of us say things to
win the approval of others.No one will
know whether the crippled person’s sins are really forgiven.But if the person does not stand up, they
will think us foolish for telling the person to do so.

Jesus shows himself to be a prophet because he cares
about the truth of his words.He will not
say to a person that her sins are forgiven unless he has the authority from God
to forgive.In today’s gospel he shows
that authority by healing the cripple. He
also shows himself to be the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy.He has come to make firm the knees of the
weak and to make the lame leap.He has
come to save us from lies and deceit.He
has come to give us joy and gladness.

As that paralyzed man in the gospel cannot walk, we are paralyzed
by our social environment so that speaking with complete honesty is
difficult.Jesus heals us of this
paralysis so that we not just tell the truth but do so in love.In this way those around us will give more
than a nod of approval.They will
thank God for our presence to them.

Saint Ambrose was not raised a Catholic.His father was a Roman patrician who afforded
Ambrose a classical education.Ambrose
became a government official and served as governor of the Roman province
around Milan. While there, he decided to join the Christian catechumenate.In this way he completed his intellectual
formation from the perspective of faith in Jesus Christ.It might be said that he was seeking a new
way of seeing reality.No longer would people
be objects with only utilitarian value.As
a Christian, he would see them as images of the Creator worthy of respect and
love.Ambrose’s new way of seeing
parallels the new sight Jesus gives to the two blind men in today’s gospel.These cures are significant because they
fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy in the first reading.

Isaiah prophesizes that in the fullness of time blind
persons would no longer live in darkness.Jesus again provides this blessing.But his cures of blindness do not stop there as if seeing sunrays were the
epitome of human desire.More
importantly, Jesus confirms the faith of the blind men in him as Lord.This gift moves them beyond the challenges of
life to the road to eternal happiness.

Like Ambrose we believe in order to see.That is, we accept the truths of faith so
that we can have a rightful understanding of the world.We need not fear that faith conflicts with
science as secularists say.The two --
faith and science -- cover different realms of being and are compatible.Belief even aids research as it provides scientists
with increased motivation.Faith-filled
scientists do their research not just to make a living and to develop knowledge
but for a higher purpose.They fulfill
the human task of praising the Creator by discovering the wonder of His work.

The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes good works to such an
extent that it is a wonder any Christian can deny their importance.In today’s passage, from the beginning of the
gospel, Jesus stresses the importance of acting on his word.He is exhorting his disciples to treat others
as they want to be treated.No doubt he
has in mind respect, patience and help if one is in need.At the end of the gospel Jesus tells the same
men that the nations will be judged precisely on how they have treated the weak
and poor.If they have fed the hungry
and visited the sick, they will be rewarded with eternal life.If they have ignored the needy, they can
expect punishment.

In the first reading Isaiah describes a society that
takes care of the needy as “strong.”Such
a people can raise their heads high because they have fulfilled the will of
God.He will guard that society forever.

One way to care for the needy is to do “random acts of
kindness.”That is, for no reason other
than it might please others we pay for someone’s coffee or make rice pudding to
be eaten after a meeting.We will find such
acts strengthening our communities.They
also will please God and make us feel good about ourselves.

Christians the world over feast on Christmas.In Mexico many families enjoy turkey.Italians have traditionally given culinary
attention to the Christmas Eve meal.First,
an antipasto of cheeses, olives and perhaps shrimp and cuttlefish is served
with white wine.Then pasta in a tomato
sauce made with clams is presented.A
red wine will accompany it.The “second
plate” will feature a variety of fish and seafood – always cod and usually lobster.Salad is served on the side or after the main
dish. Fruit is then brought to the table.The meal concludes with cakes, coffee, and liqueurs. No meat is given perhaps because abstinence
was mandated for many centuries on Christmas Eve.It also is true that by featuring fish, a
symbol of Christ, the banquet anticipates midnight Mass. In these ways Italians approximate the
celestial banquet of which Isaiah tells in today’s first reading.

Isaiah is giving comfort to the people of Israel.He or probably a later prophet has just
predicted the tumultuous “Day of the Lord.” Now God reveals His purpose.Judgment and punishment had to come so that all
peoples could love one another as children of the same Father.Jesus Christ has fulfilled this end by the
paschal event.He also has mandated that
his followers recreate the victory of love over sin by a regular feast.So we come together for this Eucharist.

Our Christmas celebration should take on the meaning of
the celestial banquet feast.We should give
thanks to God for the blessing of so many kinds of sisters and brothers.Perhaps we can invite people of other
cultures and even faith traditions to our Christmas table.There we may share the hope that the entire
world will soon live together in peace.Of
course, we will leave the table charged to bring that peace into our daily
lives.

A short story entitled “Attitude Adjustment” tells of a
priest who gets hit by a train while driving.Father Jim survived the crash because somehow he failed to clasp his
seatbelt and was thrown from the car.He
was left a mess, of course.His face was
racked and his brain discombobulated. During his recuperation Fr. Jim made many
mistakes from a loss of perspective.The
bishop had to retire him to doing children’s liturgy.

At the end of the story the priest reads the parable of
the Good Samaritan.When he finishes, he
asks the children why God permitted the Jewish man to get beat up so
badly.One six-year old answers that God
wanted to teach the man a lesson for hating Samaritans.He says that the man needed an “attitude
adjustment.”Then the children start
asking Fr. Jim about what had happened to him.They show him healing concern as if they were all the Balm of Gilead
wrapped in children’s clothing. No doubt,
Fr. Jim now realizes why the accident happened and why his life was spared.God allows such tragedies so that people
might look into the eyes of a stranger and find a friend.Furthermore, God wants His children to act as
healing balm to one another.

In today’s gospel Jesus cites children as understanding
God’s gracious will.He indicates that
they know more than the wise and learned know how we should show concern for others.In Advent more than preparing for Christmas,
we are waiting for Jesus to come to judge us.We know that he will give a thumbs
up if we work to heal the wounds of those who are hurting.If we require an attitude adjustment, let it
be.We have to work to heal the wounds
of those who are hurting.

Can only a Christian be saved? Evidently St. Francis Xavier thought so. In a
letter from India he wrote that many natives wanted to become Christians but there
was no one to baptize them. He said that
he wished to go to the universities of Europe yelling to the students that their
keenness on studies has resulted in many people being consigned to hell. But is Baptism necessary for salvation?

The gospel passage indicates otherwise. Jesus is amazed at the centurion’s faith in
God. He implies that there will be many
like him coming from faraway places to take a seat at the heavenly table. Although he does not say explicitly that
these people are not his followers, he does leave this impression. The centurion shows himself worthy a member
of the Kingdom of God as much by his concern for a servant as by his deference
to Jesus.

During Advent we express our hope for Jesus’ return as
much by acts of mercy as by praying about the Advent wreath. Our efforts on behalf of others imply faith in
Jesus’ teaching that what we do to the least of humans, we do to him. At the same time we show a relationship of
care to the needy which suggests a common Father in God. Francis Xavier had a point about the need for
missionaries to teach about God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice. However, the Holy Spirit works in many ways.

The words discipline
and disciple have the same Latin root
discere which means to learn.But this learning is not so much an
intellectual exercise as it is a moral training.Disciples learn a moral lesson by following a
rigorous rule.Today’s gospel conveys part
of the rule while the first reading describes the disciple’s reward.

In the gospel Jesus exhorts his disciples not to become
lax in the pursuit of virtue.They are
to watch out that they do not fall into either physical or moral
addictions.Physical addictions would be
alcohol, drugs, or sex.Moral addictions
would be power, greed, or pride.All of
these corrupt the spirit so that the person cannot inhabit the city of God
described in the reading from Revelation.There, like a luxurious retirement community, the people live in health
and joy.

Today as the last leaves fall from the trees (in northern
climes), we have occasion to consider the fleetingness of life.Most of us ran fast in our youth and exhibited
soft skin and vigorous hair.Hopefully we
learned moral discipline then.But if we
didn’t, the Lord calls us today to change our ways.More precisely perhaps he is calling us to himself
in his heavenly city.

Unlike other teachers of his time Jesus called a group of
disciples to him.Other teachers waited
for men to come and study Torah with them, but Jesus is pro-active.As we hear in the first reading and see in
the gospel, Jesus searches out followers.Peter and Andrew are the first of many disciples from whom Jesus will
select twelve for a special mission.

Jesus is responding to the call of God to inaugurate the
kingdom in the world.It is to be a rule
of justice where goodness is blessed and evil rooted out.The new order takes effect as Jesus heals the
sick, casts out evil demons, and preaches the will of God. Andrew, Peter, and the other apostles will assume
these ministries when Jesus leaves.They
will receive the Holy Spirit to spread God’s kingdom of justice and love throughout
the world.

We may not have been called to be apostles, but all of us
are Jesus’ disciples.We study the Christian
Torah, actually the whole Bible, with emphasis on Jesus in the gospels.We are also sent out to the world to give
witness to God’s kingdom.By living
righteously, by praying continuously, and by treating others with love, we fortify
the kingdom’s foundations.

The other day a man entered a religious goods store and
committed horrible crimes.He sexually
violated two women and killed one of them.The barbarism resembles the happenings which Jesus foresees in today’s
gospel.He says that lawlessness and
destruction will take place everywhere at the end of time.

In all likelihood the evangelist Luke embellished the
prediction of Jesus with accounts of actual events.Just before he wrote his gospel Roman troops
decimated Jerusalem.They not only destroyed
the Temple beyond hope of rebuilding but evidently ravaged the people.Such marauding is typical of foreign soldiers
sent to punish a nation.It is no wonder
then that the first reading describes God’s the downfall of Rome in such
graphic terms.“Babylon” is code word
for Rome since both were associated with extravagant hedonism.According to the reading, Rome is completely
devastated.It is as if an earthquake
swallowed up the city.

Both Luke and the author of Revelation mean to encourage
Christians to live righteous lives.They
see Jesus as coming to save his people when the situation becomes most
desperate.He will recognize them by
their courage to stand erect in hope of being rescued.The righteousness and courage which the
Scriptures bespeak include efforts to build a society of justice.We will not be able to eliminate all crime
and misfortune in the world.But guided
by the gospel and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can approximate the peace
of the Kingdom of God.

Both readings today proclaim the ultimate triumph of Christians
who persevere.The first reading
pictures Christian soldiers making music over the ash heap of their impious
foes.The gospel passage ends with Jesus’
assuring those who remain faithful that their lives will be secured.Such an overwhelming victory is hardly what
we experience in everyday life.

A news report today focused on the war in Yemen. Unknown to many Americans, the war is taking a costly toll on children. According to the report, 85,000 children under five years of age have died of starvation and related disease in the middle eastern country.Such evil occurs all too frequently in our world.Yet we run across goodness as
well all the time. Groups of Catholics and oth4r people of good will are accompanying immigrants to hearings to assure their fair treatment. We seem to endlessly live in that
wheat field where the enemy has sown weeds. We may count on good and bad coexisting until the end of time.

This dualism reflects the struggle going on in our
hearts.We feel the urge to act
sinfully.Perhaps we want to tell an
egregious lie to spite someone we don’t like.Or maybe we dream of abandoning our families for a more adventurous
lifestyle.With God’s reliable grace we
will be able to overcome these wicked impulses.More significantly, with the same we will be able to love God and
neighbor continuously.This love will
assure us a place in the symphony making music over our sins.

Death is often personified as a grim reaper.Sickle in hand the reaper cuts down living
plants.The harvest is then either eaten
and enjoyed or burnt as fuel.Similarly human
death ends in a judgment of either worthiness or worthlessness.One is either destined for glory with God or
for desolation.Today’s first reading illustrates
death seizing the entire world.

The first character mentioned seems to be Jesus Christ
who refers to himself as “son of man” in the gospel.In any case he swings the sickle of death
over a bountiful and useful grain harvest.The produce will be stored in barns for human consumption.This is the people who pleased God and are
destined to glory with Him.The second
reaper cuts down the vine yielding grapes which will be pressed into wine.The stern seer John perceives wine as an
intoxicant which turns humans into mindless animals. This produce then constitutes
those people who are lost for eternity.

As fall gives way to winter weather, in northern climes
at least, we are wise to consider death.Sooner or later it will reach us.Although an evil in that it snuffs out physical life, death serves a useful
purpose.It reminds us that we do not
have forever to fulfill our destinies as human beings.For Christians this means that we strive to
be truly loving people.We are to give
of ourselves for the good of others.In
this way when death finally comes we will be gathered into God’s house as His
beloved family.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is perhaps America’s best
known choral ensemble.Attending one of its
concerts one is moved by the members’ dignified dress, their superbly trained
voices, and their expansive numbers.In analogous
ways the celestial choir of today’s passage from the Book of Revelation can be
understood.

The heavenly chorus is praising to the Lamb of God, Jesus
Christ.All its members have God’s name
written on their foreheads.The writing is
a type of uniform that symbolizes their belonging to the Lord.They sing a song whose intricacies require a
dedicated voice.Here dedication is more
than training; it is a commitment to virtue.The fact that there are 144,000 members of the choir does not mean that
there is a strict limit to their number.The number is symbolic for enormity so that there is room for every
virtuous person.

With all the reason in the world we hope to sing with
that celestial ensemble.There is no
need to worry about there not being a slot for us.But we should concern ourselves with
acquiring the virtue so that we might sing along.We do not have to be especially intelligent
or educated.We do have to put aside all
selfish pursuits to follow Jesus, the Lamb.He generously gave of himself for others.We should do the same.

One day in 1979 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel
Laureate, gave a talk at Harvard University.People were prepared to hear him describe the atrocities of the Soviet
Union.They were not expecting a moral critique
of western society.But by then Solzhenitsyn
had lived in the United States a number of years and was not edified by all
that he saw.He did not equate the
American system with the dishonesty and corruption of the Soviet Union.But, he said, America for a long time had lost
a core of virtue.In place of justice
and courage the United States has given itself to materialism, consumerism, and
radical individualism.Solzhenitsyn’s message
has the sweet-bitter flavor of the scroll eaten by the seer in today’s first
reading and the actions of Jesus in the gospel.

Eating a scroll symbolizes a speaker’s assimilating a
message so that it becomes part of him.It is sweet on the tongue as it means learning God’s will.But it is bitter when it settles in the
stomach because it demands reform that people resist.This is actually what takes place in the
gospel passage.Jesus, acting on God’s
word, cleanses the Temple of venal commercialism.Many people praise him for such courage.The religious leaders meanwhile want to kill
him for it.Jesus knows this and so
prepares himself for suffering.

We are being called to assimilate the word of God and to
live it in the world.It will both
thrill and cost us.We will find
satisfaction in knowing that we are doing God’s work.At the same time we will hear of cynics
judging us as we ask others to cooperate in our service.We must not shrink from the task.For love of God and other human beings we
have to put into practice the values that Christ has taught.

Thanksgiving is a uniquely human response to another’s
service.Only humans can perceive a
gratuitous act done on their behalf and acknowledge their indebtedness.This is the essence of thanksgiving: a verbal
recognition that another has graciously and freely rendered one help is some
way.Animals, particularly pets, may express
subservience, but their responses are programmed to obtain favor.

Thanksgiving can be justly expected.One’s service may not only be unrecompensed
but really impossible to reciprocate.It
may not be a matter of scant resources but of the nature of the deed which no return
offering can satisfy.For this reason
Jesus expresses disappointment that nine of the ten cured of leprosy do not
acknowledge God’s goodness.

We also need to give thanks.Of course, our American tradition has singled
out today – the fourth Thursday of November – as especially appropriate to
express gratitude to God.We call one
another together not only for a meal but also for a communal prayer.We thank God for all the blessings we have
enjoyed as Americans – a land rich in resources, friendly neighbors, and the
genius to make and follow laws promoting both individual initiative and
assistance to the needy. Also as part of the American tradition we should thank
one another, especially those whose help has been both indispensable and
gratuitous.We remember how the Pilgrims
invited the Native Americans to their feast for helping them save their
lives.Finally, today in the Eucharist
we thank God for His Son Jesus Christ.He quite saves us from our follies and provides for us an eternal
banquet of Thanksgiving.

Liturgy connects us with the mysteries of salvation so
that we might participate in their effects.The Eucharistic liturgy, for example, enables us to experience Jesus’
death and resurrection as if we were there when they took place.It is more efficacious than a dramatization
because we actually receive a share of his eternal glory.The passage from the Book of Revelation today
shows the liturgy of the heavens with all creation giving glory to God.

The Almighty sits on a throne sparkling like jewels.The twenty-four elders surrounding Him
represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles.Their white garments indicate their
faithfulness and their golden crowns victory over their oppressors.The four living creatures are traditionally
associated with the four evangelists, but their symbolism goes deeper.They represent the range of creation – human
and beast, bird and farm animal -- harmoniously praising God.

The liturgy here closes the first part of the Book of
Revelation.Seven letters describing the
strengths and weaknesses of Christian churches under persecution have been
read. Although the persecution will
continue, the liturgy assures a victorious outcome.The purpose of the service is to encourage
the churches to keep the faith despite persecution.We today find hope in the message for persecution
continues.Whether Christians are
menaced by Communists in China or by our personal desires leading them from
virtue, we want to continue following Jesus.The assured end will make our journey worthwhile.

The old woman listens to the news with a dose of chagrin.It may be fires in California or hurricanes
in Florida that sets her off.She
believes that these catastrophes are a message from God.She says, “God is trying to tell us
something, but no one is listening.”The
Book of Revelation has a similar theme.

The opening chapters of the book contain letters written
to the churches of Asia Minor.The seer
John is relaying God’s warning to Christians who are not living the faith they
profess.One letter, which is read today,
is addressed to the progressive community at Sardis.It accepted the Christian message with
enthusiasm a generation or two ago.Now,
as it wants to move on to something else, John calls it back to its original
commitment. Similarly the church of Laodicea
is not living up to the gospel.It is no
better or worse than other peoples.That
is scandalous for a people who claim to follow Christ.John will have no more to do with them that
he would with rotten a rotten apple.

The Book of Revelation is timely in every
generation.It certainly is so
today.We live in an age where
solidarity among people is regularly ignored.We construct homes in gated communities.And play games with ourselves on our personal telephones.These are not ways to prepare for Christ’s return.

Crowds are notoriously fickle.One moment they can strongly support a person
or team.The next, because of a mistake
or misfortune, they may turn against the same.Theorists have proposed that in crowds individuals lose their sense of
responsibility.They allow the
prevailing mood of the group to control their thinking.This is especially apparent in Luke’s gospel.

In today’s passage the crowd rebukes the blind beggar for
asking help from Jesus. They are
certainly insensitive if not mean to the poor man.When Jesus is being tried by Pilate, the
crowds act with similar hostility.Three
times they call for his crucifixion, more than in any other gospel.But in both cases the crowds change their dispositions.In today’s passage it is said that they “gave
praise to God.”After the crucifixion,
the crowds return from Calvary “beating their breasts.”In both instances the cause of the change is
the experience of Jesus as the compassion of God.He gives sight to the blind man. On the cross he not only prays for his
persecutors but promises a repentant thief a place in Paradise.

We too have experienced Jesus as the compassion of
God.He forgives our callowness, lustfulness,
and viciousness in the sacrament of reconciliation.He gives himself as food in the Eucharist so
that we might conduct lives worthy of an eternal destiny.He has told each of us of his love for us in
prayer.We too can only give praise to
God for our encounter with Jesus.

In many places throughout the United States and Western
Europe Catholic churches are less than half full on Sundays.People no longer worship God at mass as they
did two generations ago.Certainly some
of the fallout comes from clerical abuse of children.However, before that scandal was publicized,
the numbers had begun to drop.Many people
are following “progressive” ideas which today’s first reading rails against.

At the time of the writing of the Second Letter of John the
progressive ideas include belief that Jesus was not really human.At least a few people at the end of the first
century believed that he did not have a physical body.They are likely tired of talk prohibiting sexual
relations outside marriage and weary of living up to it.They figure that it is his teachings and not
his death and resurrection that save.That
is, they began to think that one may gain eternal life by getting along with others
and rendering helpful service.Who one goes
to bed with does not factor into the equation.The “presbyter,” who writes the letter, refutes such an idea.First, he commends those who “walk in the
truth” of moral righteousness.Then he condemns
those who teach ideas like Jesus’ not having a body for leading others astray.

It seems like things have not changed so much over twenty
centuries.Sexual morality is still a
great impediment to many today.We do
not like to restrain ourselves sexually.But this is why Jesus’ humanity is so important.It not only shows us that it is possible to
live a sexually upright life; it also enables us to do it.By dying and rising in the flesh, Christ provides
us the grace to live with minds and hearts directed to him.

It is often said that the biblical Kingdom of God is better rendered Reign of God.The reason
given is that the concept indicates a dynamism more than a territory.Something similar may be said about heaven.Although people may point to the sky when they say the word, heaven is more a condition of love than
a physical locale.In today’s gospel,
Jesus stretches the idea of Kingdom of
God even more.

Jesus tells the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God is neither a place nor a thing.He adds that it is “among” them.He may be referring to a relationship with
himself.The Kingdom of God is friendship with Jesus himself.He provides all the security and support, the
joy and the affection that makes life worth living.Since he will rise from the dead, the Kingdom of God will likewise never know
a sunset.

Jesus extends his hand to form a relationship with us
daily.He is present to us physically in
the Eucharist where we actually take him into ourselves.The experience does not diminish him, but it
does expand us.Having his love and
support, we can become as gracious and happy as he.We become bearers of the Kingdom to others.

The readings today indicate two responses to God’s
graciousness.The Letter to Titus
recommends that Christians respect everyone by being peaceful and
considerate.Since Baptism has healed
them of crude and spiteful behavior, they should try to win over others to
Christ.The gospel’s recommendation for
expressing gratitude is more direct.The
tenth leper, healed of disease, returns to Jesus with thankfulness on his
lips.

Jesus is the central figure in both passages.He is God’s instrument in the first
reading.Sharing in Jesus’ cross through
Baptism, the Christian dies to sin.Experiencing rebirth in the same baptismal waters, she now lives for God
and not for self.In the gospel Jesus pronounces
physical healing for each of the ten lepers.Then he announces salvation for the one who comes back to give thanks.

We are fast approaching the great American holiday of
Thanksgiving and the joyful Christian feast of Christmas.Both occasions invoke great amounts of gratitude.Americans thank God for their remarkable prosperity.We Christians raise our voices to God in
highest praise for sending Jesus, our Redeemer.